AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is it really that expensive?” she asked in awe.
“I surmise that dress alone could fund the little coming out ball our dear stepmother has planned for our darling sister.”
Emily nearly choked at the thought of wearing a small fortune on her body. Had His Grace gone mad from that one kiss?
“If I did not buy it, and most certainly it was not Lady Rutbridge who bought it,” Benedict muttered. He turned to his sister in confusion. “Did Father buy it for you?”
She shook her head, eyes wide. “No, it was a present.”
His eyes narrowed at her words. “From whom? Caney? Marchman? You are not even courting yet!”
“No, it was from your friend,” she told him quietly. “His Grace, the Duke of Gilleton, sent it over just this afternoon.”
A tense silence descended over the carriage, and for an interminable amount of time, all Emily could hear was the clattering of the horses’ hooves on the pavement and the wheels turning around. A look of utter stupefaction was the only expression on her brother’s face.
“Benedict?”
Her meek voice seemed to snap her brother out of his stupor, and with an angry growl, he cursed, “Thatbastard!I could honestly murder him for this!”
* * *
There was a growing crush at Hadley Manor as society descended upon the ball in all their glittering finery. All around the grand ballroom, gentlemen flirted with young ladies, drawing blushes with their carefully worded compliments.
The Duke of Gilleton was uncharacteristically early, but unlike the other young gentlemen, he preferred to stand in one corner with a glass of barely passable sherry, surveying the rest of the crowd as if he were a bored god looking down upon mere mortals.
“Ah, Gilleton!” a voice rang out. “Fancy seeingyouhere. Didn’t expect to see you out here tonight!”
Daniel turned around to find a ridiculously dressed man with a portly belly. Sir Alistair Wyndham was one of the more colorful characters of the Ton and was known for his sharp tongue which had sent many young ladies to tears.
“Alistair,” the Duke acknowledged the man with subtle nod of his head.
“To what do we owe the honor of your presence, Your Grace?” Sir Alistair bowed, laughing as he did so. “Surely you have not joined the ranks of these young fops sniffing out for a prospective bride?”
“Do not be ridiculous,” Daniel snapped, his eyes cold.
Sir Alistair merely regarded him with a smiling glance. “Glad to know you still have your wits about you, Your Grace.” He stood back and surveyed the rest of the ballroom with thinly veiled disdain. “There’s not much to see here, though. This current crop is full of boring chits barely out of the schoolroom. I have not had any fun since Kensington was led around a merry chase last season.”
Daniel had no interest in the gossip amongst the Ton, so he let Sir Alistair prattle on, vaguely paying attention to which young lady was spoken for by whom and which ones to avoid at all costs.
“If you’re not here to look for a bride, then why are you here?” Sir Alistair finally asked him.
The Duke looked at him and blandly replied, “The same as you—I’m looking for entertainment.”
“Then you are going to be sorely disappointed, Your Grace—”
Fortunately, before Sir Alistair could further invoke the displeasure of the Duke, the butler announced the sudden arrival of the one he had been waiting for all night.
“Lord Benedict Montgomery, Earl of Hardy! Lady Emily Montgomery!”
As soon as he heard those names, a slow smile curled at his lips as he turned his gaze towards the grand staircase leading up to the entrance of the ballroom.
He saw the familiar form of his friend, but it was the titian-haired young lady at his arm that caused a collective hush to fall across the ballroom.
Draped in a gown that seemed to have been fashioned from liquid gold, Emily Montgomery resembled a Renaissance statue come to life.
“Upon my word!” Sir Alistair breathed in wonderment from beside him. “Is that…Lady Emily Montgomery?”
The one and only, Daniel thought with a sense of pride blossoming in his chest.
